Plug seal for hopper outlet assembly



Aug. 19, 1969 w; K. FARMER PLUG SEAL FOR HOPPER OUTLET ASSEMBLY Filed ma 19. 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I NVENTOR.

1 a r/1f g- 9 1969 w. K. FARMER 3,461,817

PLUG SEAL FOR HOPPER OUTLET ASSEMBPY Filed May 19, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

[U1]! z.'(2 ya/J ndn'cifrmen United States Patent 1 3,461,817 PLUG SEAL FOR HOPPER OUTLET ASSEMBLY William Kendrick Farmer, Chicago, Ill., assignor, by mesne assignments, to W. H. Miner Inc., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Filed May 19,.1967, Ser. No. 639,791

Int. Cl. B611! 3/ 00, 7/ 00, 9/00 US. Cl. 105-282 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A plug member for sealing residual gaps in a hopper outlet assembly at the trailing edges of a closing gate slidable across the discharge opening defined by the main frame of the assembly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field. of the invention The present invention pertains generally to hopper outlet assemblies, which are adapted for use in connection with railroad hopper cars, and through which lading within the car is adapted to be discharged by gravity.

Description of the prior art SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is concerned with plug members one disposed at each side of the sliding gate toseal the gaps at the trailing edges thereof and to exert pressure against the side edges of the gate whereby to eliminate the leakage problem heretofore encountered 'with conventional hopper outlet assemblies. Additionally, adjustable means are provided for mounting each plug member on the main frame, and such adjustable means permits adjustment of the plug member whereby to vary the pressure exerted by the plug member and to compensate for variances in the width of slide gates. Aside from the gaps sealed by the plug members of the present invention, the remainder of the periphery of the slide gate is sealed, as heretofore, by gravity.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a hopper outlet assembly incorporating the plug member of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a rear end elevational view of the hopper outlet assembly of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken substantially along the line 3-3 in FIGURE 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view, on a further enlarged scale, of the plug member of the present invention;

FIGURE 5 is a front elevational view of the plug member of FIGURE 4; and

FIGURE 6 is a rear elevational view of the plug member of FIGURE 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIGURES 1 and 2, there is indicated generally by the reference numeral 10 a hopper ice outlet assembly which is secured to the lower end portions 12 of the sloping walls of a conventional hopper section of a covered railroad hopper car. The hopper outlet assembly 10 is comprised of a generally rectangular main frame 14 which includes downwardly and inwardly inclined side wall portions 16 and 18, an inclined forward end wall 20, and a rear end wall unit 21 in the form of an angle bar 22 and a seal plate 24. The lower edges of the side walls 16 and 18 are respectively secured to the upper edges of C-shaped side channel bars 26 and 28, the lower edge of the forward end wall 20 is secured to the upper edge of a C-type end channel bar '30 extending transversely between the side channel bars 26 land 28 at the forward ends thereof, and a transverse C-type end channel bar 32 is secured between the side channel bars 26 and 28 adjacent the rear end thereof. The foregoing members of the main frame are rigidly secured together, for example, as by welding. The horizontal leg portions 34, 36, 38 and 40 of the channel bars 26, 28, 30 and 32, respectively, serve as perimetrical support flange portions in a manner to be presently described, and also serve to define a generally rectangular discharge opening.

The hopper outlet assembly 10 further comprises a gate 42 in the form of a generally rectangular flat plate slidably supported in the main frame 14 on the support flanges 34, 36, 38 and 40. The rear end wall unit 21 is spaced vertically above the adjacent support flange 40 to accommodate movement of the gate 42 therebetween. The trailing edge of the gate 42 is provided with an upstanding flange 44 that is engageable with the seal plate 24. A pair of transversely spaced rack members 46 and 48 are secured to the under side of the gate 42. The downwardly facing teeth 50 and 52 of the rack members 46 and 48 have meshing engagement with a pair of pinions 54 and 56 secured to a transverse operating shaft 58 rotatably mounted in bearings 60 and 62 secured in the web portions of the side channel bars 26 and 28. The rack members 46 and 48 and the pinions 54 and 56 cooperatively serve as means for selectively moving the gate 42 relative to the main frame 14. The operating shaft 58 extends laterally beyond the side channel bar 26 and is provided with a suitable socket member 64 formed with a plurality of radial openings 66 for the reception of a removable bar, whereby the shaft 58 may be rotated and the gate 42 moved.

When lading is to be discharged from the hopper 12, the operating shaft 58 is rotated clockwise as viewed in FIGURE 1. Such rotation of the shaft 58, through the pinions 54 and 56 and the rack members 46 and 48, causesthe gate 42 to move to the right to open the discharge opening. Upon completion of the desired discharge of lading, the operating shaft 58 is rotated counterclockwise until the gate 42 is returned to the closed position shown in FIGURE 1.

When the slide gate 42 is in closed position across the discharge opening, the periphery thereof is engaged by gravity against the flanges 34, 36, 38 and 40, and the discharge opening of the hopper assembly is substantially sealed closed. However, because of the inclination of the side walls 16 and 18 small residual gaps are presented between the side walls, the rear end wall unit 21 and the flange 40 at the trailing side edges of the gate 42. In accordance with the present invention, each of these gaps is sealed by a solid plug member 68 preferably fabricated of a resilient material such as molded rubber. The plug member 68, as shown in FIGURES 4-6, is comprised of a body portion 70, an enlarged head portion 72 at one side of the body portion, and an extension portion 74 at the other side of the body portion. Each ofthe several portions of the plug member 68 has a generally oblong perimeter with substantially parallel opposed faces and semi-circular ends, and the extension portion 74 projects away from the body portion 70 at an oblique angle relative to the plane of the head portion 72.

As shown in FIGURE 3, an aperture 76 is provided in the side wall 16, and the plug member 68 is inserted therethrough. The body portion 70 of the plug member 68 is disposed in the aperture 76, the head portion 72 engages the side wall 16 at the outboard face thereof, and the extension portion 74 serves to fill the adjacent gap and to exert pressure on the side edge of the gate 42. The plug member 68 is mounted on the main frame 14 in gapsealing position by means of a bar member 78 that extends across and engages the head portion 72. One end of the bar member 78 (FIGURES 1 and 3) is received in a C-shaped bracket 80 secured as by welding to the outboard side of the main frame, while the other end of the bar member 78 (FIGURES 1 and 2) is secured to the main frame by adjustable fastening means in the form of a nut and bolt assembly 8-2. By changing the position of the end of the bar member 78 held in place by the adjustable fastening means 82, the pressure exerted by the plug member 68 against the side edge of the gate 42 may be varied, and compensation for variances in the width of the slide gates is permitted. As shown in FIGURE 2, the plug members and mounting means therefor at each side of the hopper outlet assembly are identical in construction and function. By reason of the pressure fit of the plug members in the gap-sealing positions, leakage of lading, including fine granular material, from the hopper outlet assembly is prevented when the gate is in closed position.

While there has been shown and described a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various rearrangements and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a hopper outlet assembly, a main frame including perimetrical horizontal support flange portions defining a discharge opening, downwardly and inwardly inclined side wall portions and a rear end wall unit extending between the side wall portions and being spaced vertically above the adjacent support flange portion, and a gate slidable between the end wall unit and the adjacent support flange portion across the discharge opening to close the same with small gaps being presented between the side wall portions and the wall unit [and the adjacent support flange portion at either side of the gate, the improvement comprising plug members one disposed at each side of the gate to seal the gaps thereat, each of said plug members being characterized by a body portion disposed in an aperture in the side wall portion, by an enlarged head portion at one side of said body portion and engaging the side wall portion at the outboard face thereof, and by an angularly projecting extension portion at the other side of said body portion serving to fill the adjacent gap and to exert pressure against the side edge of the gate, and means for mounting each of said plug members on the main frame.

2. The improvement set forth in claim 1 wherein each of said portions of said plug members has a generally oblong perimeter with substantially parallel opposed faces and semi-circular ends.

3. The improvement set forth in claim 2 wherein said plug members are fabricated of a resilient material.

4. The improvement set forth in claim 3 wherein said mounting means comprises bar members one extending across and engaged with each of said head portions of said plug members, brackets secured one each to the outboard side of the main frame, said bar members being received at their one ends in said bracket members, and adjustable fastening means securing said bar members at their other ends to the main frame to maintain said plug members in gap-sealing position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,250,524 7/ 1941 Dietrichson 282 X 2,738,737 3/1956 Zimmer 105-282 3,354,841 11/1967 Barry 105-424 ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner HOWARD BELTRAN, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 49-479; l05-424 

